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Our friends are supposed to be the ones we come to in our most dire times of need. The people who hold our hair back after a long night of Nuvo, the ones who we have on speed dial – right after mom and Chipotle pick up. Anyone lucky enough to have a good friend knows that if done correctly, friendship can be everything. Just not a living arrangement.

Now correct me if I’m wrong (and I know that CollegeCandy readers aren’t afraid to do this!), but friends do not make good roommates. Hanging out with friends at school is fine, lunch dates are cool and visits are awesome. But a year-round sleepover is a huge mistake!

If you get tired of being around your younger sister for 24 hours, imagine being around your bestie. You know little sissy’s deep, dark, disgusting habits and preferences – the way she leaves the carton of juice on the table after breakfast, how she hogs up the bathroom in the morning because “she wants to feel fresh before school,” how she sleeps with her closet light on because it reminds her of sunset – the list goes on and on. You don’t know every single annoying thing that your best friend does, and trust me; you don’t want to find out. You can expect the worst from your siblings because you’ve unfortunately seen it all by now. And if you’re lucky, one door slam makes it all go away. Getting adjusted to those close living quarters and your friends’ habits may be too much at one time.

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It started at the bus stop. I was probably wearing obnoxiously colored leggings and keds, and she was probably wearing a denim jumper and Mary Janes with those little white socks with the frilly edges. You know the types. She asked if I wanted to share a  bus seat with her since we were in the same kindergarten class. I said yes. Fast forward 13 years, and we’re texting each other about our plans for the first night of college. Were we going to be going to the same rager with jungle juice being served in a fishtank? Was her roommate going to faceplant off of a bar in the basement of a frat house? Were we going to find a DD just so we could go to Wawa at 3am? Not quite yet.

Going to college with my BFF wasn’t always so kosher. Here are a few things that really helped us out.

1. DO make your own decision. We didn’t decide to go to school together. In fact, we refused to tell each other what our final results were from each college, just in case one of us would be swayed by the other’s decision. We wanted to make our own, independent decision.

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Let’s be honest. There were times when you weren’t sure you’d make it. You were optimistic back in August, but less so as the months wore on. You started your countdown on Halloween, and were ready to tear your own hair out over Thanksgiving break. By the time finals week had rolled around you had already checked out. But somehow, somehow you’ve managed to make it through.

Well…almost.

Another few days and you’ll be free and clear. Done. Dunzo. Getting the hell out of Dodge. The fall 2010 semester will be over and you’ll be able to do whatever you like over the break. Want to know what I’m looking forward to the most? Read More »

It’s about that time again.  Right as you’ve settled into campus life quite comfortably, you’re packing your backs and buying mini-bottles in preparation for a Thanksgiving spent with your sometimes-endearing, usually well-meaning family.  Brace yourselves, because the transition back isn’t as easy as the one you made upon leaving home.

Here are 5 Things to Know About Being Home for Thanksgiving:

“Honey, why are you sitting in your room with a bottle of Cherry Burnett’s and that T-Pain song on repeat?”

Okay, so Mom probably doesn’t know who T-Pain is.  And she probably also doesn’t know what pre-gaming looks like.  Meeting up with high school friends for a little reunion?  Avoid the sticky questions by taking your pre-game out of the parentals’ line of vision. Read More »

On Thursday night I had dinner with a friend. We went to the same college, but she graduated last year, so I haven’t seen as much of her as I used to. But when we finally had the chance to hang out and catch up, it reminded of how much I missed her, how much I missed having her around. It made me stop and think about what would happen next year, after I’ve graduated.

It wouldn’t just be one friend that it would be hard to meet up with, it would be all of my friends.

College isn’t just about the classes. We’re here for four years. We make lives for ourselves. The people we spend our days with, eat lunch with, sit in class with, they become family. And next year that family will be scattered across the country. People move back home. People go to grad school. They make plans and they move on. And that’s what they’re supposed to do. That’s what they are in the process of doing. It’s what I’m in the process of doing.

But sometimes, we put so much emphasis on getting there, that we don’t stop and think about what will happen when we are there.

Relationships of all kinds are about convenience. It’s easy to stay friends with someone when you see them every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:40-11:10. It’s even easier to stay friends with someone when they live down the hall from you, eat dinner with you, take all the same classes as you. These people are a part of your life. They part of my life. Will they still be a year from now, ten years from now? Read More »

Whether you’re fresh on campus or are a seasoned beer pong pro, everyone can remember the day they said goodbye to their high school friends.  It began a whole new type of LDR.  The long distance friendship (or LDF) is most common among people who have known one another for years, and are then forcefully separated by miles and ten different college towns.

Everyone wants to remain the same Popsicle-sharing, boy-loving, outfit-coordinating band of buds, so you promise to keep in touch.  Skype, AIM, gchat, Facebook…somehow you make it happen.  As you’re settling into your new dorm and meeting new people, sometimes it feels good to catch up with a familiar face.  While at first it’s all innocent I miss you’s and I’m coming to visit you’s, eventually friends start to brag.  Their cafeteria is delicious, they slept with their hot RA, they’ve made new BFFs galore.  The list usually goes on for another twenty pages, but I’ll let you just go back through your text inbox to read of the others.

Before you get down on yourself for wearily picking through mystery meat, pushing aside gray peas, and sitting with what you’re sure is the foreign exchange table, I’d like to decode your friends’ overzealous statements.  Don’t worry; they’re having a hard time adjusting, too.

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Ah, summer. The temperatures rise, the air thickens, our tans darken (unless you work in an office like me), and we go back to the old friends from home that we haven’t spent much time with in the past year. But among the mass of people you used to see all the time in high school, there are six different types of people that you will never see over your long summer vacation at home. Read More »

Whoa. That's TUBA TIM?!

For most of us the semester has come to an end and finals are right around the corner. After a week of sleeping two hours a night and living on Red Bulls and delivery food, we will all be sprinting home to nurse our under eye circles with homemade food and a queen-size bed.

Of course you will speed to your best friend’s doorstep the minute you’re in town and maul her with hugs and gossip. But you’ll need to catch up on your sleep (which may take the entire first week) before you’ll be ready to venture out into the town you once called home and reconnect with old high school buddies.

You might see them at a party, maybe at the mall, hopefully in the car next to you at the stoplight so you can make a quick getaway, but be prepared. Here are seven people from high school you will undoubtedly be running into over break.

1. The Girl Who Peaked in High School
She was hot sh*t and she knew it. She had all the football players drooling over her every move and all the girls wanted to be her. She owned the hallway with her posse trailing behind, and when she started wearing Ugg boots, every other girl in the school was wearing them come Monday. And then everyone else left town to go to college and she….didn’t. Now she’s living with the parentals and serving you dinner when you head out to your favorite restaurant with the family. Her hair isn’t quite as shiny, her face doesn’t look quite as beautiful and you awkwardly pretend not to know her as you chow down on that burger. Read More »

I remember going to college expecting to make some of the best friends of my life. It had always seemed that way — you have nice high school friends, but gradually they fade out of the picture and your college friends dominate your life. Wasn’t that the way it was supposed to be?

As I arrived at school and plunged into the rigorous academic environment that was promised in the Princeton brochure, the social scene surprised me in some way. There were the usual kinds of people I expected — the jocks, the preps, the econ majors — but not the friendships I was looking forward to.

I had dining hall buddies (people to eat and swap jokes with), and homework buddies (people to frantically share answers on problem sets with), but there was no gang of girls sharing secrets and supporting each other the way there was in high school. I compared notes with other friends and they agreed; for one reason or another, no one had as close friendships in college as they did in high school.

Why? Read More »